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The size difference between players in rugby union is what defines it from other winter codes, a game for all types. The most striking being the height separation between the halfback and lock forward. The imposing sight of a lock standing next to their halfback makes rugby the great game it is.
The lineout is where locks were designed to be, with their towering height claiming possession for those flashy backs outside. Their great bulk also playing a vital role in the engine room of the scrum, with kick-offs and mauls also vitally important.
The sight of a lumbering lock running with the ball in hand, literally for Colin Meads, brought approval from the backs again.
In my New Zealand favourites team, the chosen locks were Peter “Pole” Whiting and Andy Haden. Their Australian counterparts were John Eales and Nathan Sharpe. Now it is time to discuss favourite locks from countries other than New Zealand or Australia.
Players who stand out in your memory for their status in the game are bound to be recalled and elevated to a higher standing than others.
The Irish and British Lions legend Willie John McBride is easily remembered as one of the greatest locks to have played the game. He is one of Ireland’s most revered players but was respected around the world as a player and leader of men.
There was nothing he would ask of anyone that he would not do himself, and when he spoke people listened. Hannes Marais, the Springbok captain, recalled McBride was not liked by the South Africans in 1974 because he was so competent and Marais was sorry Willie John was not on his side.
Willie John McBride, British Lions (Photo by S&G/PA Images via Getty Images)
The great legacy of Willie John McBride is that he went on five British and Irish Lions tours of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, which is a phenomenal achievement and one that probably will not be bettered.
To define McBride is to look closely at the 1971 tour to New Zealand and the 1974 odyssey to South Africa. After his previous tours in 1962, ’66 and ’68, he was viewed by critics as being “over the hill,” but he was made pack leader in the successful 1971 series in New Zealand.
McBride initially made himself unavailable for the tour but coach Carwyn James flew to Belfast for a persuasive meeting with him. James told him that he was needed for the tour, a sentiment not felt by McBride before.
“Willie John McBride was very much in the engine room of the pack in New Zealand,” stated Gareth Edwards, the Welsh halfback.
McBride recollected that New Zealand was where he learnt a lot, and he had great respect for Colin Meads and Brian Lochore. He humorously said that “we gave them a hiding in the first Test 9-3.”
The Lions team to tour South Africa in 1974 had even greater depth than the 1971 tour and was successfully led by McBride in 22 unbeaten matches. The Lions decided they would not be intimidated by the big, tough South Africans and concluded they would fight fire with fire.
This led to the infamous “99” call which basically meant “one in, all in” and belting the closest Springbok to them. Phil Bennett, he of short stature, jokingly said to the team, “Am I in this too?”
No, it does not sound great in our pristine world now but at the time it worked, with no backward step taken by the Lions. It was easier in those days to get away with any misdemeanours on the field so many went unpunished and it would have been difficult to send off the whole Lions team when they were all involved.
McBride enforced that “the only way we could be successful was to do it together for each other as a team, we were thirty Lions not four Home countries.” Of course, the tour was a controversial one with many, including anti-Apartheid campaigner Peter Hain, stating that McBride and his team should not have gone on tour. They did get matches against coloured teams and spectators were not racially divided.
McBride was very much a motivator and before the team went out to play South Africa in the first Test he asked them, “How do you want to feel when you come back through that door?”
McBride and his Test teammates did not forgot the reserves for the Tests who never made it onto the field by applauding them at game’s end. When McBride said he was going to visit fly-half Alan Old in hospital, all his teammates came along too to check on Old’s wellbeing.
Willie John, whose proper name is William James McBride, was very fortunate to escape injury for most of his rugby life, starting his career for Ireland in 1962 and playing his last match in 1975, interspersed with 17 Test appearances for the Lions.
A moment to saviour was scoring his first Test try for Ireland against France in his last appearance at Lansdowne Road, it was his first and only try. He also surprisingly had never been to an international rugby match before playing in one.
He wore a distinctive thick white headband and while being a laidback character off the field, on it he did not want to be second best.
McBride is an inspiration to many Lions players; in retirement he hands out jerseys and gives motivational speeches to current players. A true icon of Irish rugby.
Willie John McBride becomes our first favourites lock.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.